VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – The TSX-listed stock of plant nutrient project developer Verde Agritech nearly doubled to a new 12-month high late on Thursday, after it announced that the Minas Gerais State Environmental Agency had issued an environmental licence for its Cerrado Verde project.

"With this long-awaited environmental licence, Verde leaps towards production. Years of agricultural research and tests will soon enable the swift deployment and market adoption of our multinutrient products,” commented president and CEO Cristiano Veloso.

Verde has applied for an environmental licence to mine up to 233 000 t/y of ore from its Cerrado Verde project, located in the heart of the Brazilian agricultural district.

Verde outlined that its next steps to start production entail securing a mining permit from the Brazilian Department of Mineral Production; concluding an agreement with a mining contractor; and signing an agreement with industrialisation contractors to produce its Super Greensand and Alpha proprietary products.

The company is targeting output for the first half of 2017 of 19 500 t of Super Greensand and 500 t of Alpha.

Verde has created Super Greensand – both a fertiliser and a soil conditioner. As a fertiliser, it provides potassium, magnesium, silicon, iron and manganese. As a soil conditioner, it increases the soil’s capacity to retain water and nutrients. A 100% natural product, Verde also announced on Thursday that the US Organic Materials Review Institute had certified the product for use by organic agriculture, opening the door to a niche US market for Verde.

Alpha is an all-natural product for crop protection. The product is a source of plant-available silicon, which has been proven to induce crops’ resistance and increase protection against pests and diseases.

The company said it is already in advanced stages to commence domestic and international sales, with the signing of sales contracts with agriculture corporations and distributors; shipping product for sales in the US through Amazon.com; and registering Super Greensand and Alpha as fertilisers with Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and the State of California.

Meanwhile, Verde has also announced the appointment of former Vale executive Paulo Sergio Ribeiro Machado, who will take the board seat of Antônio Schettino.

Verde’s TSX-listed stock jumped 96.83% on Thursday to close at C$0.62 apiece.